From Fanfiction to Noveling

"There's a time and place for everything, and I believe it’s called 'fan fiction'."
— Joss Whedon

A wise convention goer once said, "We write fanfiction because we want to become part of the world we love."

Even coming from a man with pink hair, wearing a trench coat and carrying a giant pink scythe, what he said rang the truth and stuck with me forever. Every time I write a fanfiction, I recall that wise man's words.

So what exactly is fanfiction? Why do people write it?

Fanfiction is exactly how it sounds. It is fiction written by fans of any sort of fandom. Whether it be from novels, tv shows, comics, or even movies - if someone likes it, chances are there is fanfiction based around it.

People create fanfictions to tell a story using pre-existing characters and settings. Think of it as an alternate plot line from the real, original story. Many fanfictions revolve around creating couples that would not normally get together, even gay and lesbian couples (called yaoi/shonen ai and yuri/shojoai in anime fanfiction, and slash and femslash in other fanfictions). Sometimes fans will create their own characters and insert them into a story, though this tends to be frowned upon in the fanfiction community).

All in all, we write fanfiction because we love the world and characters of our fandom. Even when the series comes to an end, we still write fanfiction. It's almost as if we are willing the story continue.

Well, you certainly can't get better writing fiction if you don't practice. More and more budding novelists are using fanfiction as a way to develop and practice their writing styles. It doesn't seem very creative to use someone else's characters, who already have background stories and glowing personalities to write a story. However it does make it easier to tell the story without having to explain why the characters do what they do - that in turn makes it easier to focus on writing style.

Another bonus to fanfic writing as practice is readership. Hundreds upon thousands of readers read fanfictions everyday. If you are looking for feed back on how well you write, posting a fanfiction or two on fanfic websites are the perfect way to find out.

By the time you are ready to create a novel, you should be comfortable enough to write it with much more ease.

DO:

- Write about a fandom you enjoy. If you attempt to write a fanfic about a show you don't enjoy, don't even bother. It will show in your story that you have no interest.
- Be creative. Just because the characters aren't of your creation doesn't mean that you can't have fun with them~
- ALWAYS write a disclaimer. (Example: DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!) It's a really simple action that will save you a lot of troubles in the end. However, if you do add your own characters, don't be afraid to claim them, but disclaim the rest of it. [Example: DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! but I have full rights to Mika Tanaka as my original character.]
- Do your best to keep the characters you are using in character. People love it when you do.

DON'T:

- Don't get upset if you add your own character to the mix and don't get a lot of readers. It's a strange phenomenon among the fanfic community that original characters are the plague of any fandom. I can't explain it, but don't let it discourage you.
- Don't try to claim characters that do not belong to you as your own.
- Don't publish a fanfiction and try to get money off of it. It could very well get you sued if you are discovered. (Therefore, publishing fanfiction on HubPages is a bad idea).